Another attempt at sightseeing

Yesterday was pretty boring. I had booked a car with the hotel to take me sightseeing. After waiting 45 minutes for the car to turn up, I asked to go to the Konark Park, which was labelled as a bird sanctuary/research centre in my guide book/brochure thing. Unfortunately, it was also the only attraction listed without an address, a fact I only noticed after the driver spent ten minutes reading the listing in an effort to work out where it was. Since all it said was ‘on the outskirts of Pune’ and ‘5kms from Pashan’, he eventually had to give up and call the hotel for directions. What followed was a conversation in increasingly irritated Hindi, which I didn’t understand a word of, except for ‘Konark Park’, ‘Pashan’ and ‘Google’. Yes, that’s right, Google. From what I could work out, the conversation started out with ‘what’s the address of Konark Park?’, and ended with ‘well, if you don’t know, google it!’ After that, the driver hung up. Five minutes later, he got a text with the address, which I am choosing to take as confirmation of my theory. Globalisation is a wonderful thing!

We drove for about an hour through some very scenic countryside, until the driver suddenly looked around, did an abrupt u-turn and pulled into a shallow space in front of a large iron gate. The place was completely deserted, and at first, I thought he just wanted to get off the road to consult a map or something. It took me a moment to noticed that above the gate was a metal plaque proclaiming Konark Park. This came as something of a surprise, as not only was there not a soul to be seen, but it looked as though this might have been the case for some time. The gates were clearly locked, and through them the compound itself looked rather forlorn, empty except for a few pieces of old, weather beaten pillars with the paint flaking off stacked in one corner.

The driver honked a few times, and eventually a security guard emerged from the hut next to the gates. After a quick conversation in Hindi (with the driver, obviously, not me), it emerged that Konark Park had closed down six months ago! I was a bit shocked, especially as apparently it has been going for 30 years. Of course, there was nothing to do but turn around and go back, which we did, but not before I managed to get a picture of what has to be the weirdest sight I have seen in India so far, which just happened to be located just opposite: The Ambrosia Institute of Hotel Management. You have to understand that, by this point, we were in very rural territory, all fields and farms and greenery, with the occasional inconspicuous compound, usually army-related. Then, in the middle of an area of lush, low trees, suddenly this enormous thing loomed into view! The only way I can really describe it is as a gigantic glass bow (as in one you tie with ribbon). There seemed to be no infrastructure, nothing to support its existence; it looked like a huge, space-age building, quite unlike any I have ever seen, had been dropped down right in the middle of the countryside and just left there. I’ll post the picture when I can, but unfortunately I seem to have misplaced the cable for my camera.

Anyway, after I had gazed in awe at the bizarreness of it for a few minutes, we headed back into Pune. I was determined to see animals, so we ended up going to the Katraj Snake Park, billed in my guidebook as ‘the most attractive tourist place in Pune’. The driver came in too, which surprised me; I didn’t mind, but usually they just give me their phone number and go for a chai while I do my tourist thing. I mentioned to him that he was welcome to do the same, but he said he preferred to come with me as it was ‘a big area’. Naturally, this put me in mind of the zoos we have in Europe, especially as it turned out to be quite a wooded area next to a lake, within an immediately obvious perimeter. As such, I was a tad surprised when we managed to do the whole thing in fifteen minutes, without rushing in the least. The exhibits were nice, though – mostly snakes, also a couple of crocodiles, some birds (owls, peafowl and an invisible vulture) and a group of monkeys. I was surprised to find that most of the reptiles were kept outside, in deep pen with little roofs on them, but with the weather the way it is over here, I can see why. They looked a lot more comfortable than the few snakes in terrariums, too, although the king cobra seemed quite happy in his tank. A cat had gotten into the monkey enclosure when we arrived, and I lingered there, hoping we’d see a reaction from the monkeys, but no joy. They all seemed quite comfortable with each other, and later I saw the same cat with a white mouse in its jaws which looked suspiciously well fed, which made me suspect that the cat was probably quite comfortable with the snakes as well.

After we’d seen everything we could walk to, the driver told me to stand in line next to a little hut, where a battery-powered car would come and take me to see the rest of the animals. I stood there for a while, but there was a sign saying that each car only took ten people, and there were at least twenty in front of me, several holding places for their children playing nearby, so when no car appeared after 10 minutes, I gave up and went to admire the lake instead. I might try again, early in the morning before the crowds arrive, but I’m going to ask some of the others if I’m missing anything first.